


A+

by IreneSpring



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alex is gay and does crime, Alternate Universe - Career, Crimes & Criminals, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluffy Ending, Hacker!Alex, Implied Sexual Content, This is the only way I will engage with Alex's season 19 storyline, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vigilantism, and then it gets solved, but like for a good cause
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-27 17:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30126057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IreneSpring/pseuds/IreneSpring
Summary: For over two years, Olivia has worked to get proof that Alex Cabot has been clearing her witnesses' social media profiles, transferring money to and from their bank accounts, and finding them a completely new life. She has never been able to catch her.Olivia is certain that Alex Cabot is her nemesis. Alex, meanwhile, flirts with her at every opportunity and seems to enjoy their rivalry. Not that Olivia agrees. Or appreciates the flirting.When Alex hacks into Deputy Commissioner Abraham's computer as a favor to Olivia, she suddenly finds herself in over her head. Deciding exposing a child pornography ring is worth facing prison time, she forms a tentative alliance with the Special Victims Unit.Now Alex and Olivia must work together. To Olivia's immense displeasure. Mostly.
Relationships: Olivia Benson/Alexandra Cabot
Comments: 25
Kudos: 19





	1. Bothering civilians

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the next story for this challenge! Though this is a lot different from what I've previously written, I really enjoyed it. Confident Alex is always fun to write and I figured it was time I actually tried writing something substantial from Olivia's perspective.
> 
> Timing of this fic is a little unclear, but let's say early season 13.

“Your girl is at it again,” Nick informs Olivia before she even has time for coffee.

“What?”

“Someone hacked Deputy Commissioner Abraham’s computer.”

“And you think it was her? Why?”

“She greeted you.”

“What?” 

“She said, ‘A favor for Liv. Xoxo, A+.”

“What?” Olivia knows that she’s being repetitive, and that she’s had the same expression on her face the entire conversation, but Alex Cabot’s theatrics have never been so dramatic… or so reckless. It’s almost impressive.

“I mean it has to be her. She’s never used that name before, but come on Liv, do you know of any other hacker who would use an alias that references a school grade?” Nick asks. Olivia appreciates that he has the decency to not mention Alex’s fondness for toying with Olivia. 

“You’re right. We need to talk to her.”

“Look, I know I’m new here, but at my old precinct, suspects didn’t just wait around for us to interrogate them.” Olivia throws him a sharp smile as she sits down at her desk.

“Normally yes,” she concedes. “But you have a lot to learn about Alexandra Cabot.”

Olivia has never had a fondness for the kind of building where Alex does her day job. It’s almost entirely windows, and all the furniture is colorful and curved. Call her traditional, but she’d prefer a cubicle any day. She stands in the middle of the room, asking herself when exactly she turned 65, when she sees her.

It’s deeply unfortunate for Olivia how objectively beautiful Alex is. Not that Olivia’s ever thought about Alex’s appearance in anything other than a strictly analytical sense. Because of course, Alex is a criminal. That’s all that matters. 

Still, with her long legs, blonde hair, and stylish glasses, she probably could have modeling would have been an entirely feasible side job for her. One which had the benefit of being legal.

“Detective Benson, I’m beginning to think you’re growing fond of me,” Alex says with a crooked smile.

“Ms. Cabot, I have a few questions for you.”

“I’ve been here all day, you can ask Liz, she’s over there.”

“It’s about last night.”

“Well for that you can ask the woman I was with. Though tracking her down might prove difficult, I didn’t get her last name.” Olivia feels a twinge of… nothing. A twinge of nothing. Criminal. Hacking. Questions. She’s got this.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who goes by ‘A+’ by any chance?” she asks evenly. Alex raises her eyebrows.

“I’m fairly certain that’s not a name.”

“You’re correct. It’s the alias used by a person who hacked Deputy Commissioner Abraham last night.”

“Why would I know anything about that?” She’s good, Olivia has to give her that. She doesn’t blink, her body language never changes. 

“It seems like the kind of thing you’d be familiar with.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“It seems like the kind of thing you’d be party to, actually.” Alex tenses slightly, and Olivia relishes her victory.

“We were having a nice chat, Olivia,” she says cooly. “Do I need my lawyer yet again?” 

“Of course not. This is just a courtesy. I’m here to inform you that we’re going to be watching you.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be sure to ramp up my exhibitionist tendencies accordingly.” Alex smiles at her then, like she knows Olivia would want to see that. Olivia frowns, ordering her mind not to picture what Alex would look like undressed.

“I’m going to be watching you. You so much as breathe the wrong way, we’ll know.” Alex meets Olivia’s glare.

“Sounds like harassment to me. You should be careful, I’m a popular technological innovator. Besides, it sounds like whoever did this was just doing you a favor.”

“And how would you know that?” Finally she was getting somewhere. It almost seemed too good to be true. It was too big of a mistake for Alex. Sure enough, Alex scoffs quietly and opens her phone, turning the screen to Olivia.

“Story broke half an hour ago. Abraham’s computer was filled with child pornography. He was a bad man, and it sounds like he got what he deserved. Good to know that the NYPD spends its time bothering civilians instead of following leads.”

“I-”

“I think you probably have to get back to the precinct, Olivia. But let’s do this again sometime. You’re good conversation, and that blouse really works for you.” With that, Alex breezes past her, and Olivia knows that she’s back to square one. And also she should probably buy her blouse in another color. Even psychos can have good fashion sense.

“Dammit,” she mutters under her breath.

“So how was talking to Cabot?” Nick asks when she returns to the precinct, coffee in hand.

“Fine.”

“Anything useful?”

“Nothing.”

“Figures. Someone like her, she’s practiced.”

“You don’t know the half of it. Stabler and I spent the better part of two years trying to get anything on her. She slipped through our fingers every time.” 

“What’d she do?”

“Our witnesses, all survivors of domestic violence, kept disappearing with their social media feeds and government information wiped clean off the internet and all their money transferred into anonymous international bank accounts. We suspected we had a serial killer until one of them turned up alive and well in Miami. She refused to name who smuggled her and her daughter away, but accidentally mentioned a nice blonde woman who ‘helped her with the computers and the money.’”

“I don’t understand, where’s the crime?”

“Some of the money was from their husbands’ bank accounts. Sometimes the children were part of a legal battle. Larceny and kidnapping for the network, though Alex was probably only part of the larceny.”

“I say more power to her.”

“And that’s why she stays in New York. We don’t have anything real and even if we did, no one’s going to convict her. She’s got a cushy penthouse in Manhattan just fifteen minutes from here.”

“How do you know that?”

“She gave me a business card with her number and address written on the back a while ago.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“You ever…”

“What? No,” Olivia hisses, scandalized. “I would never. Even if she’s not as awful as most of the people we deal with, she’s still a manipulative criminal. She enjoys the game. Taunting me. She knew I wouldn’t show.”

“She’s your nemesis.”

“Exactly.” Olivia pauses. “You know, she sent me condolence flowers when Stabler quit. Signed the note and everything.” 

“That’s cold.”

“It was annoying,” Olivia says with a shrug. “Not like it meant anything. They hated each other.” Nick is about to respond when Cragen emerges from his office and waves them to join him.

“Olivia, how’d it go with Cabot?” Cragen asks.

“Poorly. How’s 1PP?”

“Thrilled,” Cragen deadpans, and Olivia smirks. “Your friend really handed us a shitshow.”

“Don’t call her that,” Olivia snaps immediately, and Cragen raises his hands in surrender.

“Fine. The point is, whoever did the hacking is on the backburner right now. We need to focus on the fallout and make sure that we are 900% sure we’re right on this, okay?”

“Got it.”

It wasn’t that Olivia didn’t see the logic in the captain’s approach, but it struck her as a waste of time. She’d painstakingly combed through every single thing that could be traced to Alex, or one of her several aliases, and her work was always spotless. For better or was, whatever Alex showed was there was absolutely there. 

Something was odd though. Over the years that the NYPD had been aware of what was going on, Alex had never once deviated from her practiced place in the network. She stole money and she occasionally leaked damaging information about the abusers. Child pornography investigations were not her area.

Maybe it really was a favor.

A favor in some odd, misguided way. An olive branch. 

Maybe Alex really had wanted Olivia to show up.

_ It doesn’t matter,  _ she tells herself. No matter what Alex’s intentions were or are, Olivia is focused. She is a crusader for justice. She stands diametrically opposed to all people who violate the law. That includes disgusting old men taking advantage of abused children, but it also includes beautiful women with skewed senses of justice.

Olivia emails Alex’s file to Nick. Fresh eyes and all that, though she knows he won’t find anything. There’s not much there anyway. Then, as per her orders, she sets the whole thing aside. She has to call Pippa. She has to interview the children. All thoughts of Alex Cabot can wait. 

Her apartment seems even emptier that night. It has been a long, exhausting day, and Olivia can’t help but wish she had someone to vent to. Someone to curl up with. Someone to do the dishes so she can pass out. Really any of those. 

She had never cared for Abraham, never really respected him either, but it was still jarring. It made her paranoid. It made her wonder who else around her was hiding something. She wonders what it must be like, being able to access all of people’s online secrets. Never having to worry that there’s something you don’t know about someone.

Maybe it’s comforting. Or maybe it makes you jaded, turning everyone into pixels on a screen. Making you detached enough from day-to-day reality to obviously flirt with an enemy-- with someone who wants to destroy you. 

Olivia pours herself some cereal, aware that it isn’t actually dinner, but not quite caring. She’s tempted to just give in and fall asleep on her couch, but figures that if she actually went home instead of sleeping at the crib, it’s probably a good idea to at least sleep in her own bed. No sooner has she stripped out of her work clothes and slipped under the blankets than she finds herself fading from consciousness.

It’s barely 6:00 in the morning when she gets a text from Nick.

_ Come in. Something’s going on. _

Nick doesn’t know her well enough to actually care if she gets enough sleep. It’s nice. She throws on some clothes and gets to the precinct as fast as she can, ignoring breakfast entirely.

She’s instantly glad she did. As soon as she walks through the doors, John is shepherding her into an interview room.

And there, sitting down, her clothing somehow immaculate despite the ungodly hour, is Alex Fucking Cabot.

“Detective Benson, good morning.”

“Good morning,” Olivia says blankly, still not convinced this isn’t an elaborate dream.

“As I just told Captain Cragen, I am willing to admit to my role in the hacking of Deputy Commissioner Abraham.” Olivia pinches her arm, and Alex snorts.

“Okay…” she says slowly. “And what exactly was your role?”

“Oh, I did all of it. Planned it, executed it, luxuriated in the aftermath, the whole thing.”

“I don’t understand, why are you admitting to any of this?”

“Because I like my odds of getting a deal,” Alex says bluntly. “I have information I think might be useful to you, and as much as I hate to admit it, I need your help.”


	2. I'm cooperating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Olivia begin to work together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's going to require some suspension of disbelief in terms of how plea deals work. But it's nothing too out there, given the show this fic is based around.

“I don’t trust her,” Nick says immediately once they leave the room. “Benson’s been tracking her for years and suddenly she just shows up? Seems like a power move.”

“That would be in character for her, but Captain, I don’t see how she wins this one by turning herself in and confessing. I think we need to hear what she has to say.”

“I’m with Liv,” Fin agrees. “There’s no point in just locking her up when he could gain something and _then_ lock her up.”

“She did ask for a deal,” John points out.

“She’s not getting a deal,” Olivia, Nick, and Fin immediately object.

“It’s up to the DA,” Cragen says with a shrug.

“She’s getting a deal.”

“What?”

“I spoke to the DA earlier today,” Greylek sighs. “This entire thing is the scandal sent from Hell. Even with her confession, I probably still couldn’t even get an indictment. I’d be laughed out of the room by the jurors. Besides, from what I can tell, she’s not a suspect in any violent crimes.”

“She’s a vigilante!” Olivia protests. “We can’t just let her go!”

“We can and we are. She gets immunity on this and whatever she was previously suspected of. Blank slate.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Olivia, you know just as well as I do that these things are complicated. And if she has anywhere near the information she claims to have, it’s an easy decision. I realize you’ve put some time into this-”

“Two years-”

“-but that’s outweighed by the possibility of taking down an interstate child pornography ring. If I don’t give her immunity now, the Feds will swoop in and give it to her themselves. I’ve seen it happen.”

She’s right. Olivia knows she’s right. But the thought of letting Alex go, right when they were _so close_ , makes her want to punch a wall. She can almost picture the sly smile on Alex’s face, her pink lips curving into a look of self-satisfaction. She wants to push her into a wall and… 

Shaking her head to clear herself of her sudden confusion, she looks back at Greylek.

“I know.”

“Good.”

“Does she know yet?”  
“I think she’s looking over the deal with her lawyer right now.”

“I want to talk to her. If she’s going to help, she’s going to help through me.”

“I think I can work that out.”

“Alright. Thanks, Kim.”

“You’re welcome. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry to ruin your investigation.” 

“Alright, Cabot, you got your deal. Now what do you suppose you have?”

“Please call me Alex.”

“ _Alex,_ what do you think you have?” Olivia asks. To her credit, the mocking facade is gone now. Alex looks serious, business-like.

“I may have accidentally bit off more than I can chew with the Abraham leak,” she admits.

“You admit you did something wrong?”

“The opposite, actually. I did too good a job. I found a network.”

“What?”

“As prodigious as I am, I doubt I could successfully pose as Abraham over long periods of time, and even if I could, someone would need to arrest the men I trapped.”

“You’ve exposed information before.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Alex says. “That’s finding embarrassing information on people no longer in a position to hurt others. This is discovering violent crimes by people who are probably hurting children as we speak. Is it a hit to my pride that there’s something I can’t pull off? Yes. Do I realize that even coming here was a massive risk? Yes. But it’s worth it if I can stop them. If _we_ can stop them.” Olivia is momentarily stunned. Of all the things she expected Alex to say, that had never occurred to her. 

She had assumed it was about her. She had assumed it was another ploy. She feels something almost like disappointment that it seems like Olivia herself had nothing to do with this decision; it was instead Alex honoring her lofty principles.

Something Alex can clearly read on her face.

“You’re cute, Detective Benson, but not cute enough for me to risk prison.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Olivia mutters. “Now show me your computer.”

“I already sent a copy to TARU,” Alex says. “I’m cooperating. Blanket immunity allows for transparency. Besides, whatever you think of me, you have to know that stopping violence has always been my aim. We have the same goal.”

“No, we don’t. I use the legal system,” Olivia argues. Surprisingly good-hearted or not, there are some lines Olivia will not allow Alex to cross.

“Yes you do, while I achieve results,” Alex comments. 

“You’ve gotten people arrested for murders that didn’t happen.”

“They were abusers. Like I said, results.”

“I-” Olivia opens up her mouth to refute whatever twisted logic was just expressed when Alex raises both her hands.

“We could do this for days,” she says bluntly. “And that helps no one. If we’re going to work together on this, I need to know that you can drop this self-righteous act. Yes, I did things you claim to disapprove of. Are we done?”

“For now. If you can drop your Batman complex,” Olivia responds. Alex laughs, and nods at Olivia.

“Sure. Why not? Today seems to be the day for charting undiscovered territory.” She smiles, and Olivia swears that her blue eyes seem to be sparkling. Undiscovered territory. A new start. It’s not like Olivia has never considered what could be if Alex wasn’t a suspect. It’s not like she didn’t spend a week after the business card incident dreaming of a world in which she could justify knocking on Alex’s door.

“I’ll see you later,” she says simply.

“I imagine you will.” Olivia takes one last look at Alex, who is starting to look just a little tired. Her hair is less perfect than it was when she walked in. Her blazer has been shrugged off, and her blouse is slightly wrinkled. It’s that extra bit of humanity that drives the situation home for Olivia. Grand Crime Mastermind and/or Witch Alex Cabot, who existed in the shadows to occasionally reappear for a few tantalizing moments before disappearing back into the ether is suddenly replaced by a human woman, who is trying to do good in a deeply fucked up world. A human woman who is now, at least technically, on Olivia’s side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Of her own volition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Olivia grow closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your kind comments! It means a lot.

Working with Alex is simultaneously entirely different from what Olivia had first imagined and yet very predictable. Olivia knew she was sharp, and also knew that she was charming. Still, it’s impressive how well she absorbs information when she’s given carefully worded updates. It’s kind of sweet how she gets the TARU technicians and computer crimes detectives to basically eat out of her hand as she coaches them through a rudimentary version of her process. She’s helpful, and considerate to an extent. The one time she left the precinct, to ask a friend to water her plants and give them a key, she returned with dinner. 

Her dedication is another pleasant surprise. Long after she met the requirements of her deal, she sticks around. She sleeps in the crib, she scours the internet for any trace of the suspects they come up with. She takes having to wear the same clothes two days in a row a lot better than Olivia expected.

And yet, Olivia is occasionally reminded of exactly who she’s dealing with. Alex openly scoffs at most cop talk. When Cragen gives a pep talk about making sure the perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, Olivia  _ swears  _ she sees her roll her eyes. 

She never takes a shine to Nick. Try as she might, Olivia can’t get Alex to see Nick’s occasional outbursts as righteous anger, nor can she get Nick to see Alex’s cutting jokes as endearing attempts at humor. When Rollins returns from an undercover assignment, everything somehow gets worse. Rollins immediately assumes Alex is a cop, and when Alex brings her hand to her chest in a dramatic display of horror, Nick storms out. Alex yells something along the lines of “prove my point, why don’t you?” at him, and after that Olivia gives up hope of achieving anything more than a detente.

Olivia has also been forced to come to terms with what she actually feels for Alex. Her denial hung in there as long as it could, but eventually she had to accept that her day is infinitely better when Alex smiles at her, and that her flirting does something to her stomach that definitely isn’t negative. 

She surprises herself with how she doesn’t want to fight it. She doesn’t see the point. Olivia doesn’t have to investigate Alex anymore, and Alex is proving to be a valuable team member, against all odds. Moreover, her charm is only compounded by the semi-frequent displays of kindness and compassion Olivia observes. When this is all over, there’s nothing really stopping them from doing whatever the hell they want. 

Alex seems to be of the same mind. Initially, whenever they’re in a meeting together, Olivia sits right up next to Alex to make sure she’s not secretly photographing or recording anything. She stops once it seems Alex isn’t up to no good, but Alex starts sitting near Olivia of her own volition. Olivia nearly bolts out of the room one time when Alex neglects two actually comfortable chairs to sit next to Olivia on the couch and John sends her a knowing smile. She should establish distance, disavow any notion of impropriety, but she doesn’t. Not when Alex occasionally brushes their legs or sides together, and especially not when they finally receive good news about the first arrests, and Alex slings her arms around Olivia’s waist and pulls her into a hug. 

They eat dinner together frequently. Olivia explains this away as Alex needing supervision but that is very far from the truth. The truth is that Olivia enjoys her company. She enjoys hearing Alex reminisce about her time at MIT, or make snarky remarks about New York politicians. Olivia delights in how easy it is to rile Alex up with pointless arguments: the woman apparently has very strong views on pigeons (good, apparently) and Starbucks (bad, it seems, after a ten minute long rant). One time, when almost everyone else at the precinct had long gone home, she tricks Alex into watching a spy thriller with her and a bowl of microwave popcorn. Popcorn which Alex promptly spills, slamming her fist against the table and declaring that the movie has gotten the entire process of hacking irredeemably wrong. Besides, she adds, hackers are never that good looking.

Olivia has to stop herself from making the obvious retort.

The case is moving quickly. Cragen is thrilled. 1PP is thrilled. Even the mayor’s office is thrilled. Olivia is not thrilled. All she can think about is how in a few short weeks, her unlikely connection with Alex Cabot will be severed. She'll go back to her normal life, with her normal empty apartment, and she’ll never see Alex again. Worse is the prospect that she will see her again, but it will be in the old context. As enemies. Olivia doesn’t think she could arrest Alex after this. She couldn’t stand to see her stylish t-shirts and pencil skirts replaced with a prison uniform. She doesn’t want to interrogate her, to scream at her, to think of her as an enemy. Maybe, she thinks, just maybe, Alex cares just as much as she does. Maybe she could convince Alex to stop. That they could have a life together if they contented themselves with only working inside the law.

She decides that she’ll never forgive herself if she doesn’t at least try.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asks, shortly after they receive word that there’s a new lead on the person actually producing the pornography. Alex nods, and follows Olivia into the empty breakroom.

“What’s up?” Alex’s smile is warm and friendly, and Olivia feels her heart rate pick up.

“I’ve been doing some thinking…”

“Good. You could use the practice,” Alex jokes, and Olivia casually gives her the middle finger.

“I mean that in all likelihood, this case will be over soon. And you won’t have to work with us anymore.”

“That’s true.”

“So, I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner. In a restaurant. For real.” 

“I’d love to.”

“Really?”

“It’s about time you asked me. Liv, I’ve been dropping hints for years.” This is it, Olivia thinks. This is their moment.

“Promise me something, then,” Olivia begins.

“Anything,” Alex agrees, with a smitten look on her face that Olivia is sure she must be hallucinating.

“Promise me you won’t go back to what you were doing. Promise me that you won’t do any more hacking, that you’ll stop.” Alex freezes.

“What?”

“Alex, I know it’s kind of your thing, but I want to be with you, I do, and we can’t, not while you’re doing this. It’s wrong.”

“You really think that?” Alex’s face is unreadable.

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

“ “Listen to me-”

“I’m such an idiot,” Alex mutters, sitting down on the couch and pressing her face into the palms of her hands. “Goddammit.”

“Come on, you have to have known I didn’t agree with you. I’m an NYPD detective for fuck’s sake! You’re a vigilante-”

“I thought we were in on it together!” Alex bursts out. “I thought it was our thing. ‘Don’t do it again, wink wink,’ you know?”

“Why the hell-”

“I was never arrested! It was clear you knew who I was, and what I was doing. But you never arrested me, never built a real case, and you kept showing up. I assumed, I don’t know, we had an unspoken arrangement: you’d look the other way if I kept helping people.”

“I wouldn’t call what you do ‘helping people,’” Olivia objects.

“Well I would,” Alex hisses. “You really had nothing? All this time? So you weren’t working with me, you were just genuinely incompetent?”

“I am a cop!” Olivia shoots back. “I enforce the law. The  _ idea  _ that I would be in league with a criminal is so far off-”

“You were different!” Alex insists. “Everyone I spoke to who did the same kind of work as me knew who you were. You saved me a lot of time and hassle because women in difficult situations felt comfortable staying where they were and fighting because they trusted you. And then I actually met you, and you were smart, and the way you looked at me-” Alex pauses, seemingly realizing something and burying her face in her hands. “Oh my god, I’ve been flirting with you for years, and you…”

“Alex-”

“I thought you felt something. I thought it was mutual. I thought we understood each other, that we were partners even though we weren’t together yet. I had these grand romantic notions of the fates aligning at some point and bringing us together. I misread things. I’m sorry for the flowers, I’m sorry about tormenting you, I’m sorry about putting my  _ address  _ on a fucking  _ business card _ -” 

In that moment, nothing matters to Olivia besides Alex. She finds the notion that Alex could even think that her feelings are one-sided intolerable. Like Olivia hadn’t had the same thoughts about fate and soulmates. The connection. She could learn to let everything else go. She could. She could do that for Alex. In a rush, she crosses to where Alex is sitting, gripping her shoulders as Alex stands up to meet her, and she crushes their lips together.

Alex responds immediately, kissing her back with enthusiasm and a hint of desperation. Olivia’s hands find her hips and she pulls her closer. It feels good. It feels right. It feels like this was always inevitable: somehow fate had predetermined that Olivia Benson and Alexandra Cabot would end up in the dirty breakroom after business hours, making out under the glare of fluorescent lighting.

“Wait,” Alex gasps, pulling away. “You said before anything-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Olivia hisses. “We’ll figure it out.” Olivia swears Alex’s eyes visibly light up at the words as she pulls her back in. Alex’s interjection lights a fire under Olivia. It serves as a reminder of exactly who this is. Exactly how long she’s wanted this without being able to admit it to herself. She pushes Alex backwards until her back hits the wall and sighs when Alex opens her mouth once more. She could do this for the rest of the night, Olivia realizes, just lose herself in the moment and commit to memory the sounds Alex makes as she cups her breast or rakes fingers through her hair.

“We should go to my place,” Alex interrupts. “You know where it is.”

“Here is good.”

“As much as I want you, and I do, I really do, I’m not having sex in the breakroom of a police precinct, against a wall that hasn’t been cleaned in at least a year or on top of a couch that’s probably been here since before I was born.” She has a point. Olivia hates that she has a point.

“Your place,” she agrees and pulls away. She watches with a grin as Alex adjusts her clothes and tries to smooth her hair back into place. The precinct is mercifully empty and they’re able to sneak out and get into a cab relatively unnoticed. 

“You don’t have to come inside,” Alex says when they reach the front of her building. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.” Olivia almost laughs before she sees that Alex looks serious. So instead of laughing, she takes her hand and squeezes it.

“I won’t regret this, Alex,” she assures her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am trying to improve my physical affection writing.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


	4. This morning person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Olivia work though Olivia's issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that there is no longer unresolved tension we have reached the "complicated discussion on the moral implications of vigilantism" part of the story. I promise it's not as boring as I just made it sound.

Olivia regrets nothing. She doesn’t think she’s ever felt as good in her life as she feels right now, spread out under the blankets of Alex’s king-sized bed and enjoying the sound of Alex’s breathing beside her. 

“What are you thinking about?” Alex asks, reaching to tangle their fingers together.

“You,” Olivia says with a happy sigh.

“What about me?” There’s an edge of wariness in Alex’s voice and Olivia immediately feels a twinge of guilt.

“About how beautiful you are, about how much I enjoy your company,” Olivia answers honestly and then adds something she’s never even said to herself. “How happy I am that I met you.” Alex smiles for a moment but then her face drops.

“I thought I was just a criminal and a vigilante,” she says curtly. “Surely one night of good sex doesn’t replace all of that.”

“It’s not about that, Al.” Alex raises her eyebrows at the nickname and Olivia tries to smile. “I mean it. It’s you. I did,  _ I do _ reciprocate your feelings. I was so close to coming over when you first gave me your address.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because I didn’t think you actually wanted me to. And I didn’t know enough about you. About your motivations. About who you really were.”

“Bold of you to assume you know who I am now.”

“I think I understand you,” Olivia claims, ignoring Alex’s skeptical expression. “I might not know how you got mixed up in all this or why you really do this beyond the abstract, but I know you’re not some criminal mastermind who gets off on controlling people.”

“That’s what you thought about me?”

“I didn’t know what to think.”

“What if I told you about all that?”

“Hmm?”

“If I explained everything, do you think you could get past it? Do you think there is any future if I filled in the blanks? Because I would do almost anything for that to happen.”

“Except quit.”

“Exactly.”

“Then explain.” Alex takes a deep breath.

“It’s not that unpredictable,” Alex warns. “I knew a woman, Natalie, at MIT. I hate saying that she was ‘going places’ or an angel, or anything like that because it’s cliche, but also because it implies that women need to be talented or promising to deserve relief. But she was a good person and she was smarter than me. She started dating a local grad student. He thought he was God’s gift to everything, I swear. And he didn’t like that Natalie had her own ambitions, her own dreams. He started doing everything he could to keep control over her, and I mean  _ everything _ . She would talk to me because she knew I wouldn’t spread it around campus or defend him or anything like that. I told her to call the police, and she did. They got her to a safehouse. But once she was there, they told her to log on to her social media and delete it. Well, her boyfriend was monitoring her profiles, and once she logged on, he was able to get her location. He showed up with a gun and killed three people, including her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you’ve heard these kinds of stories countless times, but it hit me hard. I knew her. And it was such a small mistake. And I was the one who encouraged her to go there, so I felt like it was my fault. I started volunteering once they reopened the shelter and developed new systems of technological assistance. Then my boss asked me if I was comfortable doing more, and I was.”

“But this isn’t just about deleting profiles --or even deleting government information-- Alex, you stole money, you steal money.”

“Do you know what a single mother needs when she has to start her life completely over in a new state after not being allowed to work for three years? Fucking money,” Alex shoots back. “Most of it was their money anyway, just locked away from them. And don’t ask me to be sorry for the abusers because I’m not and I never will be. Personally, I hope they all died horrific deaths consistent with the  _ Saw  _ franchise.”

“I know of two cases before we found out what you were doing where the husbands were arrested for murder.”

“That sounds like the NYPD’s fault to me. I didn’t say it was them. I didn’t do anything to make you think that besides getting their wives or partners out. But please, continue to blame me for your people not having their house in order.”

She’s right. The realization hits Olivia square in the chest. All the time she’s spent putting up walls and insisting that there was something inherently evil about Alex and she never questioned the party line. Never really considered  _ right  _ vs.  _ legal _ . She had put it all on Alex, but it was her fault. Her fault they moved too fast to arrest people. Her fault that there was a need for a person like Alex in the first place. 

“So you can understand,” Alex says when the silence drags on past the point of comfort, “why I assumed you were on my side. Why I thought you were harassing me simply for cover.”

“Yeah.”

“So…” Alex turns to face Olivia and she looks worried. Scared, almost. Like she’s possibly failed at justifying her life to Olivia. Like she cares, more than anything, what Olivia thinks of her.

“You’re right, people need you.” Alex lets out a relieved breath.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand the impulse. You cop. I criminal. We fight.”

“Not anymore,” Olivia points out, gesturing between the two of them. Alex laughs and leans in to press her lips against Olivia’s.

“Not anymore,” she agrees. Olivia smiles as Alex settles into the blankets and makes a quiet sound of contentment when she finds the right position. Olivia turns to face her, pressing her cheek against the pillow.

“That was kind of heavy for pillow talk,” she says with a grin. “Sorry.” Alex laughs lightly.

“I forgive you. It was necessary.”

“Alex?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you think about dating?”

“I think that you’re going to love ballet. You won’t think you will, but you’re going to, and I’m going to be the one to take you there.”

“Alright.”

“What’s your opinion on pancakes?”

“Are you kidding? 100% positive.”

“Good. That’s breakfast tomorrow.” Breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast with Alex. At her apartment. 

“That sounds great.”

Olivia wakes up to the morning traffic and the smell of something delicious. Running a hand through her hair, she puts on the pair of sweatpants and loose t-shirt that Alex apparently laid out for her. Following her nose, she finds Alex in the kitchen, humming something to herself and wearing similar attire.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Alex says happily when she sees her.

“You’re a morning person?” Olivia asks groggily, trying not to blush at the compliment.

“I’m a  _ this  _ morning person,” Alex clarifies, walking up and kissing her on the cheek. “I may or may not have hoped for this to happen for a very long time.”

“You made pancakes?” 

“I said I was going to.”

“I know… it’s just, I didn’t expect you to be able to make something that wasn’t made of binary code.”

“There are multiple coding languages.”

“Whatever.”

“You sound like you need coffee. There’s a pot almost ready. There’s also a new toothbrush in my bathroom you can use.”

“I adore you.”

“My, my, how things have changed.”

“Yeah.”

“Want a pancake? I have blueberry and classic.”

“How fancy.”

“Scratch that. I have nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” Olivia says with a laugh. “Classic would be great.” As Alex prepares a plate, Olivia looks around the room. Alex’s apartment is exactly how she imagined it. Modern and clean, with the only sign that a real human person lives there being a few books and magazines left on the couch. It’s slightly smaller than she had expected when she first met Alex, but that makes sense.

For years she envisioned Alex as someone who needed everything to be dramatic and overblown. But now the small size makes sense. It’s practical. The mark of someone used to living alone and not overly concerned with material things.

“I like your apartment,” Olivia says casually, snapping herself out of her contemplations and turning her attention to her pancakes.

“Thanks. I’m not overly attached to it.”

“...Okay?”

“What I mean to say is, I wouldn’t be opposed to moving.” Alex pulls up a chair directly across from Olivia. “Don’t get me wrong, I love New York, but I think I could be happy elsewhere.”

“These are amazing,” Olivia says in between bites, still trying to understand what Alex is getting at. Alex shrugs, but the blush in her cheeks suggest she’s pleased by Olivia’s reaction. “Why would you want to move?”

“If we’re really doing this,” Alex says, “I can’t imagine it’s going to be easy for you, at the squad. I know half of them still hate me.”

“They don’t hate you,” Olivia retorts instinctively, trying to ignore the voice in the back of her mind that knows how right Alex is.

“They hate me. And that makes sense. You hated me.”

“I never hated you.”

“You did. Maybe you were attracted to me, but you still hated me. Because, as I now realize, I must have been making your life miserable.”

“That’s fair,” Olivia concedes.

“Exactly. And your colleagues don’t have information about my bedroom prowess to color their opinion of me.”

“That’s not why I care about you.”

“I know it’s not,” Alex assures her. “But your colleagues don’t know about any of the stuff I told you either. I’m a nuisance. A necessary evil. And that’s fine. I couldn’t care less. But I think you could.”

“They’d get over it.”

“Maybe. All I’m saying is if you wanted to leave, I’d go with you.” Alex’s face is serious, and the look in her eyes makes it clear to Olivia that she would. She would leave everything she built in New York and go. It feels early, it should feel too soon. Olivia panicked every single time partners made things too intense too early, but she doesn’t find herself panicking this time. She finds herself touched.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Would you like another pancake?” And just like that, the tension breaks. All of their problems suddenly seem like property of the distant future. Unimportant, especially in comparison to how beautiful Alex looks in the morning light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


	5. Well, in Florida

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The case comes to an end and Alex and Olivia consider the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for enabling me and my increasingly out-there story ideas! Your kindness meant the world.

The end of the case comes with Olivia having almost bitten off her fingernails and Alex struggling to keep her breathing in check. She resists the urge to grab Alex’s hand as they watch the feed from the raid. This is what it had all come down to: an abandoned house where an untold number of abuses were being filmed. There were so many ways this could go wrong, and Alex had opened up to her about her anxiety before they had even gotten together, so she could only imagine how she’s feeling.

If this doesn’t work, the past few months will be for nothing.

Well, not for nothing.

But this still needs to work. 

There’s shouting on the cameras. They’ve found the perpetrators. Olivia hears Alex gasp when one of the perpetrators pulls out a gun, and they both sigh in relief when one of the team disarms him. It’s going okay. It’s going well. 

“There have to be children there,” Alex mutters. “Why haven’t we found them?”

“They’re probably hidden in one of the back rooms,” Olivia assures her. “This happens all the time.” Olivia is suddenly reminded that for all the time Alex has spent working with survivors, this kind of raid is new to her. Olivia remembers her first time watching a raid. She had felt like she couldn’t breathe.

She gives into temptation, grabbing Alex’s hand and squeezing. Alex smiles softly at her and takes a deep breath.

“It’s going fine,” Olivia assures her. “This is honestly better than I expected. No one’s hurt.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive. Al, I’ve never known you to be off the money, okay? You told us this is where everything went down, so this is where it all went down.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Alex’s breathing speeds up.

“But what if I was wrong?” she asks. “Olivia I know you think I’m omnipotent but I could have screwed up. What if I screwed up? I spent all your time, all your resources-”

Olivia doesn’t care that by now someone has definitely noticed her proximity to Alex. She leans in, pulling her into a hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“It’s going to be okay,” she soothes. “Even if it doesn’t work, we’ll get another crack at it. We always do. But we’ll find them. And when we do, you’re going to be a fucking hero.”

As if Olivia had willed it into existence, they hear triumphant shouts through the speaker. Alex immediately pulls out of Olivia’s embrace, turning around to see agents soothing four scared children. The sight immediately fills Olivia with pain and happiness at the same time. Those poor children were hurt. But they’re safe now. 

It’s the best possible outcome they could have hoped for. Especially when the agents confirm that all the children appear healthy and they’re on their way to the hospital. 

They did it. She and Alex. Together.

Alex seems to have realized the same thing, because she turns to Olivia with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face and Olivia has to kiss her. She can’t imagine this case ending any other way. 

Before she can stop herself Olivia leans in and presses her lips to Alex’s and wraps a hand around her waist. Alex responds immediately, raising her hands to Olivia’s jaw and kissing her back. They get caught up in the moment, but when they finally pull away, Olivia is keenly aware that several people in the room noticed them.

So much for the carefully composed plan she and Alex (okay, mainly Alex) had been working on for weeks. She finds herself strangely unbothered.

“Benson, my office,” Cragen says, cutting through the noises of celebration. Alex throws her a concerned look but Olivia just nods.

They knew this was coming, and Olivia is strangely unbothered, because whatever’s coming her way, it’s worth it.

“We’ve been here for less than three hours, how is my hair already frizzy?” Alex complains as Olivia parks the car in front of their new home.

“We’ve been here for less than three hours, how are you already complaining?” she shoots back, and Alex just sighs.

“Trust me, when my hair fucking explodes in all directions like a confetti bomb, you will not be pleased.”

“You’ll still be gorgeous,” Olivia says confidently, stealing a kiss when Alex rolls her eyes. 

“Well if you say so,” Alex says, and then pauses. “I mean, you must always be right,  _ Captain  _ Benson.”

“Be quiet.”

“I mean I know it’s not the NYPD but you did get quite the title bump.”

“I know.”

“And Cragen said you’d never move up,” Alex scoffs.

“He said I’d never move up  _ in New York _ ,” Olivia retorts. “He always knew I was good at my job. None of this was his fault.” It was true. Cragen had told her in no uncertain terms that while Alex was no longer legally a criminal, Detective Jeffries had been essentially fired for less and if Olivia wanted to move up, she needed to start looking for jobs elsewhere. A year ago it would have crushed her, but now it seems like just a minor setback.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” Alex says, getting out of the car and haphazardly running a hand through her hair. “If it weren’t for my… unconventional life choices you’d still be fine.” This wasn’t the first time she’d said that, and Olivia knows it won’t be the last.

“Al, I’ll say what I’ve said each time we’ve had this conversation,” Olivia begins, “you didn’t trick me into anything. I made my own decisions and I’m very,  _ very  _ happy with them. Besides, I probably would have left anyway, it wasn’t the same with all the new people.” Alex nods and pops the trunk, taking out her suitcase.

“I know that,” she admits. “But this probably won’t be the last time I feel guilty.”

“I assumed that,” Olivia assures her. “I don’t mind. It just lets me know that you care about me.”

“I care about you so much,” Alex agrees. She looks at her feet, then at nothing in the distance, and then finally at Olivia. “I love you.” 

They’d never said that before. Sure, it was implied, especially given that Alex had just moved with her to  _ Florida  _ of all places, but it still meant a good deal to hear it said out loud.

“I love you too,” Olivia says, and tilts her head up to kiss Alex.

“Liv-” Alex says between kisses.

“I love you so much,” Olivia says, moving her hands to Alex’s face.

“Liv... the bags.” Oh. Wait. Alex is still carrying a bag in each hand. That would explain her awkward movements.

“Sorry,” Olivia mutters sheepishly. “It felt appropriate, given the situation.”

“No, it definitely was, I just couldn’t time my love confession properly,” Alex says playfully. “Let me just put these inside and I’ll be more than amenable to continuing where we left off.”

“Let me help you with those,” Olivia says immediately, taking her own bags and reaching out to Alex, who shakes her head.

“I can handle them. Now let’s get inside. Time to start our new life in paradise.”

“Well, in Florida,” Olivia corrects, and Alex cackles. Olivia follows her girlfriend, and as she watches her climb the front steps, the sun and greenery perfectly complimenting her brightly colored shirt and truly beautiful eyes, Olivia can’t help but think Alex is right.

This is paradise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!! 
> 
> I'm not sure when my next story for this challenge will happen, but it should be pretty soon!

**Author's Note:**

> And so it begins. 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


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